Many or most tasks in the good life of humans may be performed either by males or by females. The simplification of the Adam and Eve story, has Eve with reproductive power while Adam, excluded from reproduction, has greater power over nature. Larger size and freedom from reproduction gives males an advantage over females allowing males to select the tasks which seem the them to be most pleasant. Tasks necessarily associated with reproduction are almost universally assigned to females.

Females bring to the perfomance of their assigned roles superior social skills including more multitasking capacity.  Females bring more skill in the use of language (which appears to be genetically sex specific; see McGuffin), and more emphathy (perhaps learned in mothering roles).  These skills are needed in the management of children and in the management of others in the provision of the needs of children and other dependent persons.  We may call this managment by mothers, something more than motherhood, mother management.  Mother management characterizes the special contributions of women to the management of others in the well-being creation processes.

Considering the large range of which may be performed either by females or males, who should manage the performance of these tasks?  In patriarchies of real life, males. And in imaginary matriarchies, females. In this analysis we find strong patriarchies in India. In order to characterize the middle ground found in the Kerala experience we speak of weak patriarchy.  We assume weak partiarchy as a mid point which might also be called weak matriarchy.

In this analysis, Indian females which have experienced the discrimination of fatal daughter syndrome have learned to emphasize their survival skills ahead of their mother management skills. These females are less able to manage effectively in the processes creating well-being for their families and their communities. They are less effective than those who have not suffered this family and community discrimination. That is, we may say that the mother management skills of many Indian women have been frustrated or actually impaired.

In a related and sometimes overlapping usage, sociologists mark observed differences in the relative powers of males and females by reference to female status. And economists use the term, female agency, to indicate special powers attributed to women. The term, mother management includes both that female status and that female agency which is integral to the effective creation of well-being for the their families and communities.

(Directory)  March 20, 2000